Setting up multiple operating systems on separate storage devices.
Setting up multiple operating systems on separate storage devices.
Hello! Yes, you can avoid dual-booting by installing Elementary OS on a separate hard drive. This way, you won’t need to install Windows first, making the setup simpler and less stressful.
You'll sidestep several issues, yet a bootloader must be present on the disk that serves as your BIOS's main startup device. To decide which operating system you prefer at boot, consider this sequence: if you're pairing elementary OS with Windows, start with Windows first (or proceed if it's already there), then install elementary OS afterward. The setup tool will recognize Windows and adjust accordingly. Windows isn't particularly intuitive.
Technically feasible, yet the only approach I see is using older methods. Set your boot priority with a single drive as usual, but include two distinct autoexec.bat scripts that tell it which OS to use. As long as you can point it to the right autoexec file, the OS doesn’t matter.
You can set up bootloaders like grub or grub2, which are standard for most Linux distributions. They work well on various drives and partitions. EasyBCD lets you adjust the Windows bootloader to recognize additional operating systems, though it doesn’t match the performance of the first two options. The source of the autoexec.bat scripts isn’t clear to me.
I'm 35 and used to rely on config.sys for basic operations. Back then, the first 256Kb of RAM was essential for running anything. Nowadays it's mostly overlooked, but it still started everything on the disk.
You're seeing mixed detection results from your Windows installation. It appears the system is trying to locate Windows on both your internal 1TB drive and the external 500GB drive. When you disconnect the external drive, Windows still reports installation but only shows a 'Delete everything' prompt. This could indicate a partial or corrupted installation, or the drive may not be properly recognized. Consider checking the external drive's connection and ensuring it's properly seated before trying to reinstall or troubleshoot further.